Kansas City,
01
February
2016
|
09:36 AM
America/Chicago

Wagging tails make good medicine at Children's Mercy

Doctors and parents say Hunter and Hope reduce stress and raise spirits

Hunter makes daily rounds at Children’s Mercy.

Sort of like a doctor — until he jumps into a kid’s bed and gets his tummy rubbed. Doctors can’t do that.

Another difference: When Hunter, a 2-year-old golden retriever, walks into a patient’s hospital room, that child — sometimes a very sick child — usually breaks into smile.

Hunter arrived at Children’s Mercy on Hospital Hill last summer as part of a new facility dog program. His colleague, Hope, arrived a couple of months later at the Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas location in Overland Park.

Children's Mercy's facility dog program was made possible by the generous support of private donors.

Read Hunter & Hope's full story via The Kansas City Star.

And be sure to check out the photo gallery

Learn more about how to give to Children's Mercy here.